My family is full of junior scientists. For example, my two daughters, codenamed Jay and Robin, are huge fans of birds and birdwatching. I asked them to join me today talk about the art and science of birding. Find out how your kids can get involved in this fun outdoor activity.

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Everyday Einstein: So we’re here to talk about birds. Tell me, why do you like to study birds?

Jay: I think they’re interesting because they’re animals but their ways are very different from humans, so that makes them very interesting to study.

Everyday Einstein: How about you Robin?

Robin: I think that it’s interesting to study them because with humans there’s only one type of human: human. But with birds there are all sorts of different species all over the world.

Everyday Einstein: So let’s say I wanted to get started studying birds. What would be the first thing that I should do?

Jay: Well first you should get some books from the library, or buy them off the Internet; books that teach you how to study birds.

Everyday Einstein: Do you have any particular recommendations?

Robin: Well I think that the RSPB books are good.

Everyday Einstein: The RSPB, that’s the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; that’s a British society, is that correct? And in America they have books like the Peterson’s field guide, which is a similar type of book. Is that right?

Robin: Yes

Everyday Einstein: So why is it important to have a good field guide? Why does that help you?

Robin: Well, if you see a bird, and you don’t know what it is, and you’re like: “What kind of bird is this?” you can look at your bird field guide and flip through the pages to try and find it.

Everyday Einstein: So you’ve got your books, what do you need next?

Jay: Well, you need some equipment. The first thing you’d probably want is a notebook and some pencils to write things down, and maybe some binoculars to see birds that are far away.

Everyday Einstein: And what sorts of things do you usually write down?

Jay: I usually write down things about the bird, and what the bird is doing. Because when you look the birds up in the field guide, it also talks about how the different birds act, so that can make them easier to find.

Robin: I think you should get some colored pencils to draw pictures of the birds, which also makes them easier to find if the book is illustrated.

Everyday Einstein: Once you’ve gathered all of this information, what do you do with it?

Robin: Now you know different birds, so if someone says to you “Wow, I wonder what that bird is, it’s so nice.” You can say, “It’s a robin.”